Match the words (1-10) with the definitions (a-j).

Essentially, defamation is any false statement about a person (or organization) that creates public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or inflicts injury on reputation. A person filing a libel suit usually must prove that: (1) the false statement was communicated to others through print, broadcast, or electronic means, (2) the person was identified or is identifiable, (3) there is actual injury in the form of money losses, loss of reputation, or mental suffering, and (4) the person making the statement was malicious or negligent.

In general, private citizens have more success winning defamation suits than public figures or corporations. With public figures – government officials, entertainers, political candidates, and other newsworthy personalities – there is the extra test of whether the libelous statements were made with the actual malice (New York Times* v. Sullivan).

Corporations, to some degree, are also considered “public figures” by the courts for several reasons: (1) they engage in advertising and promotion offering products and services to the public, (2) they are often involved in matters of public controversy and public policy, and (3) they have some degree of access to the media – through regular advertising and news releases – that enables them to respond and rebut defamatory charges made against them.

This is not to say that corporations don’t win lawsuits regarding defamation. A good example is General Motors, which filed a multimillion-dollar defamation suit against NBC* after the network’s Dateline news program carried a story about gas tanks on GM pickup trucks exploding in side-impact collisions.

(Wilcox, Dennis L., et al. Essentials of Public Relations. New York: Longman., 2001. P. 222)

Notes

The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. It is owned by The New York Times Company, which publishes 15 other newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe. It is the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States.

(“Wall Street Journal”) Wikipedia. 30 Oct. 2007. 30 Oct 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times.>)

General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, an American multinational corporation, is the world's largest auto company by production volume for the first 9 months of 2007, and by sales volume for 76 consecutive years. Founded in 1908, in Flint, Michigan, GM employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries.

(“Wall Street Journal” Wikipedia. 30 Oct. 2007. 30 Oct 2007

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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors.>)

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. It is sometimes referred to as the Peacock Network due to its stylized peacock logo.

(“Wall Street Journal.” Wikipedia. 30 Oct. 2007. 30 Oct 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC.>)

Reading 12.2.

Read the text “Fair Use versus Infringement” and answer these questions.

1.What does the term “fair use” mean?

2.Why is the lawsuit of 1991 so important?

3.How can a public relations professional avoid infringement?

Fair Use versus Infringement

Public relations people are in the business of gathering information from a variety of sources, so it is important to know where fair use ends and infringement begins.

Fair use means that part of a copyrighted article may be quoted directly, but the quoted material must be brief in relation to the length of the original work. It may be, for example, only one paragraph in a 750-word article and up to 300 words in a long article or book chapter. Complete attribution of the source must be given regardless of the length of the quotation. If the passage is quoted verbatim, quote marks must be used.

It is important to note, however, that the concept of fair use has distinct limitations if part of the copyrighted material is to be used in advertisements and promotional brochures. In this case, permission is required. It also is important for the original source to approve the context in which the quote is used. A quote out of context often runs into legal trouble if it implies endorsement of a product or service.

The copyright law does allow limited copying of a work for fair use such as criticism, comment, or research. However, in recent years, the courts have considerably narrowed the concept of “fair use” when multiple copies of a copyrighted work are involved.

A landmark case was a successful lawsuit in 1991 by book publishers against Kinko’s, a national chain of photocopying stores. The chain was charged with copyright infringement because it reproduced excerpts from books without permission and sold them in anthologies to college students. Although Kinko’s argued “fair use” for educational purposes, the court rejected this defense.

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